American Ski Classic returns to Vail Valley

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VAIL — Ski racers and wannabes from all walks of life will crank down the bindings and stoke the competitive fires next week as the Korbel American Ski Classic descends on Vail Mountain’s Golden Peak for five days of thrills, chills and spills.

Marked by days filled with fast and furious ski racing action, along with off-hill festivities and celebrations, the American Ski Classic races will start Wednesday with the fifth installment of the Conway Cup Community Race.

Competition action will also include the legends giant slalom on Thursday, Ford Cup celebrity team competition Friday and Saturday, March 22, the future legends Race on Saturday, March 22, and the Battle of the Legends Relay bringing down the curtain for the on-hill activities on Sunday, March 23.

The festivities off the racecourse will be equally enjoyable, with the Gorsuch Tea Dance, sixth annual Hold ’Em for Hope benefit dinner and auction and the Legends of Skiing Banquet.

“The Korbel American Ski Classic is the premier event of the ski season,” said Ceil Folz, president of the Vail Valley Foundation. “We look forward to a great week of competition and camaraderie that has long been the foundation of this event.”

The Conway Cup Community Race is named and run in memory of Dan Conway. This rite of spring is a good afternoon of racing and partying, with four individual racers earning the right to advance to a spot in the Ford Cup celebrity team competition.

Legends of Giant Slalom

Up next is the Legends Giant Slalom on Thursday evening. It’s a head-to-head competition, featuring some of the greatest names in ski racing history. Past Olympians and world champions will rekindle rivalries on the racecourse as five generations of skiing legends collide for the right to once again stand on the top step of the podium.

The legends will need to be sure not to leave too much on the GS course, however, as they move into the role of team captains for the final two days of the American Ski Classic as the Ford Cup celebrity team competition takes center stage on Friday and Saturday, March 22. Five-member teams will attempt to work their way through a maze of head-to-head competition during the course of the two days, emerging with not only the team title, but a year’s worth of bragging rights to boot.

Hold ’Em for Hope

Participants and guests will have the opportunity to showcase their casino prowess Friday evening as the annual “Hold ’Em for Hope” benefit dinner and auction headlines the evening’s festivities. Hosted at the Vail Marriott Resort and Spa, the evening features a Vegas-style buffet, auctions and an array of casino games.

A ceremony will round out the American Ski Classic social festivities Saturday, March 22, as the greatest female skier of all time is honored when Austria’s Annemarie Moser-Proll is inducted into the International Ski Hall of Fame at the legends banquet.

Moser-Proll dominated her competition during the 1970s, winning six overall World Cup titles, including five consecutive season-long crowns from 1971-75. During the course of her 12-year World Cup career, she amassed a record 62 individual World Cup career victories, more than any other female winter sports athlete. In addition, she accounted for six World Championship medals, four of them gold, along with a trio of Olympic medals.

About the American Ski Classic

The American Ski Classic is a project of the Vail Valley Foundation. For additional information on the Ski Classic or the Vail Valley Foundation, visit www.vvf.org.